Nightly
by David Macintyre
Summary: Every night, he would shift the bed four feet and look through the hole in the floor, at the young woman in the apartment below...


You're going to notice [song lyrics]. These are the lyrics to 'Digital Bath', a fine song by the Deftones, which I highly suggest you find and then put on repeat before you begin reading, as I did while writing this until 3 am.  
  
Enjoy.  
  
--  
Nightly  
  
David Macintyre  
--  
  
Every night, he'd shift his bed three feet and look into the hole.  
  
Every night might be something of a misnomer. Sometimes, Sonic the hedgehog would invite his friends over, secretly, to his hideaway in the south end of town. It was a stack of low rent, three-room flats pieced together with what one could only presume to be paperclips for wiring and stale bread for walls. Holes decorated the walls, portals for the cockroaches to slip in and out of the light at their leisure. On these nights, he would worry in their presence, and then he would take a hit of heroin.  
  
Sonic was paranoid. He had been ever since the calls for his assistance stopped coming. One day he was the town hero, the next, it just stopped. No more doctor, no more saving the day. No more anything. This bothered him. He'd grown accustomed to his life of vigilantism. Once that went away, he had nowhere else to go.  
He KNEW it couldn't last. He knew one day it would all come back to claim him. And he intended to be ready when that day came. It became too much to bear. He needed to get away, to hide, to just disappear and not have to worry anymore. So he came to this place, and stopped answering the phone.  
His friends knew where he was, but they wouldn't tell anyone. They wouldn't do that to him. They wouldn't  
  
  
  
He snapped alert. He eyed Miles warily.  
What you say?  
I'm gonna go, I have to work tomorrow, Miles said calmly. He knew Sonic was still rattled. He thought he'd get over it, eventually, so he kept his visits semi-frequent in the hopes that with enough consolation and company Sonic would finally return to his old self.  
That looked far away. Right now, he was thin, pale. A thin layer of cold sweat always clung to his forehead, a shaggy, unshaven shadow covering most of his chin and cheeks. His clothes were starting to show signs of neglect.  
okay. See you, Tails.  
I'll come back soon, okay?  
Of course.  
He watched Tails quietly, almost cautiously exit the room. He waited several seconds after Tails had gone and then looked out the window. It was getting dark. No, it was dark. It was ten o' clock. Time for bed.  
No, no sleep right now. Sonic had a problem, one which he'd been meaning to tend to for some time.  
His moth-eaten bed was raised some two or three inches off of the dirty floor and every night, he'd notice, as he was climbing into that bed about to slip into a peaceful void of slumber, that a tiny sliver of light would shine through from underneath the bed. This bothered him. He didn't know what it was, and that meant it could be a problem. Right? He'd never known light to shine out from under a bed. Tonight, with Tails gone and at least an hour worth of wake left in him, he decided to find out what that light was.  
He gripped the feeble frame of his bed and pushed it along the hard floor, trying to make as little noise as possible. The tiny black outline of a cockroach skittered between his feet and retreated to a hole in the paper-thin wall. Ignoring it, he kept pushing the bed, until finally he'd shifted it enough to find the source of the light.  
  
There was a tiny crack in the floor. No, a tiny hole, with a few thin cracks radiating from it.  
He looked. There was a hole in his floor. This was a problem. It bothered him. Where did this hole go? It was obviously someone's ceiling. What, who, had he been sleeping above for the past months? He decided to find out.  
Sweeping the lackadaisical strands of quill out of his eyes as he bent down, Sonic peered through the tiny hole, peered into the source of the light that had agonized him so.  
He saw a bathroom. No; a bathtub. He saw a dirty bathtub, full of water. Which meant there was someone in it.  
Indeed, there was someone in that bathtub. A young lady. A young, naked lady.  
Sonic jumped back. He'd peeped. That wasn't polite.  
  
But it was so tempting  
  
No. He dragged his bed across the floor and covered the hole once again, satisfied that he now knew the source of the light. Just his neighbor. There would be no harm from his neighbor  
  
The next night, he tried to sleep. He really did. But he couldn't. He tried reading, but he couldn't concentrate.  
He hadn't seen his friends that day. Was that it? Was he lonely? No, loneliness was different this was an urge.  
He couldn't admit to himself what he knew. It was the hole. The girl in that hole. She was lovely. She fascinated him. Did she bathe every night?  
He had to know. He climbed out of bed and, quietly as he could, pushed. He couldn't alert her. She might decide not to bathe. He couldn't have that. It would bother him.  
The bed shifted easier this time. The light came faster, and once again Sonic knelt down, throwing back his long, greasy locks so as not to obscure his view.  
He looked down into the hole. There was light again tonight; she was bathing. Did she bathe every night? He had to know.  
He looked. She was in the bathtub again. He watched her sit, scrub herself occasionally. He watched the way her wet hair draped on the porcelain and its tendrils floated about in the lukewarm bath water. He watched everything, his apprehension all but dissolved, dissolved by the soapy water.  
Deep underneath his clothing his body responded as he watched. The girl sighed.  
The tiny noise snapped Sonic out of his trance. That was enough for tonight. This was rude. He wouldn't appreciate someone doing this to him. Was someone doing this to him? No he looked up at his ceiling. There were no holes. He was sure there were no holes in his bathroom ceiling either. He'd seen it two days ago. But there might be. You never know.  
Best not to worry about these things. Sonic gripped the frame of his bed again and shifted it over the hole, drifting into subconscious oblivion before his head even hit the pillow. He was satisfied, at last.  
  
The third night in a row he had that same urge.  
It wasn't as powerful as before, but it was enough to dissatisfy him. It bothered him. He figured it must have been his lack of exercise that day. He had plenty of money, so he didn't need to work, but he chose this broken down place as a way of saving funds and of escaping. He'd slept most of the day and watched a bit of trashy TV on his old set, but that was about it. No phone calls, no visitors. No exercise. He was restless. He wanted to look in the hole.  
Five minutes later, he was peering through the tiny opening once more, kneeled over, slowly stroking himself as he watched her slide her washcloth in and around the various crevasses of her soft shapes. Across pinkish-brown nipples, along a soft stomach, soft thighs.  
Something then made him stop. He stared intently, held his breath. She had looked at him.  
He could have sworn it. She'd looked up and seen him through that tiny hole in her ceiling. Maybe she'd noticed the whites of his eyes, maybe she'd heard his slow, raspy, gasping breaths. But he could have sworn she'd looked at him.  
Was she glad? Was she angry? He couldn't tell.  
That was enough for tonight. He couldn't risk it. He didn't even bother moving the bed. He just slept, turned away, curled up and attempting not to think about the short pillar of weak light glaring at him from the floor four feet away.  
  
  
Yeah, what is it?  
This is Mr. Smith in the second floor flat?  
Yeah, Sonic, what you want?  
It's Smith. I've told you that before. My name isn't Sonic. It's Smith. Call me Smith.  
Yeah, sorry there, mister SMITH. What can I do for you?   
I'd like to ask you something and I want you to answer me truthfully.  
  
I'd like to know the name of the tenant on the first floor.  
Beg your pardon?  
The young lady in the room beneath me. What's her name?  
  
  
Mr. Smith, I'm not really free to answer that question.  
Why not?  
I can't just give out the names of my tenants to anyone I please. I need their permission, on a case by case basis.   
Well, how many people who don't even know her name will she give permission to?  
Well, yeah, exactly.  
Look, Harv. I really need this.  
Can't help you.  
Come on... Harv, desperation Let's imagine for a second that my name isn't Mr. Smith at all, it's actually Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog.  
Right. Imagine.  
Shush. Of all you know about Sonic the hedgehog, do you really think he poses a threat to one of your tenants? Is he going to use this name for some evil deed?  
I suppose not, Sonic--  
  
SMITH. I suppose not, SMITH. But that doesn't matter. Legally, I can't give you her name.  
Where she lived prior to here? Where she went to school? Anything?  
Now you're going nuts.  
I'm not nuts. I just need this.  
Can't help you.  
  
Click.  
  
In the hours between the call and Sonic's self-imposed bedtime, he'd grown even more wary about the young woman in the shack below. It was bothering him. He needed to know what he could find out about her. She'd LOOKED at him. She knew he'd watched, and she hadn't moved, she hadn't started. She'd just... looked. It wasn't right. There was something...  
Sonic thought his situation over, his bed still not shifted back onto the hole, staring at it while he formulated a plan. At about nine o' clock, the light flicked on, shining up through the floor. She was taking another bath. He strained his worried ears and picked out the sounds of water running out of the tap and flowing into the tub, and then the young woman climbing in, soaking herself, bathing once again.  
Last night, it had been the noise which had alerted her to his presence. His peeping. He'd heard him breathing heavier than usual, or the sound of his hand rustling the cloth of his pants and boxers. If he could drown out his own noises, she mightn't hear him this time.  
Why did he want to look again? What could he gain? He asked himself these questions. Eventually he decided it couldn't hurt just to peep for the sake of satisfying his urge, his infatuation with this woman.  
His hard eyes darted up, rested on the stereo he kept on his shelf. Next to it were a stack of CDs, a few of which were unopened, untouched since he'd received them as housewarming gifts'. Standing up and picking three out of the stack, he sifted through them, looked over the cover art, the track names. He wanted something calm, but loud enough and preferably bassy to disguise his own sounds. He'd heard such things about a particular CD in the stack, and so he decided on that. Piercing the plastic with one of his nails, he tore off the wrap and put the other two back on the shelf before pulling the stereo down from its resting place against the wall. He flipped open the lid and placed the CD inside, closed it, pushed play.  
A few seconds later, a dark, soothing melody filled his ears, drowning out the sounds of his clothing rustling as he moved. Perfect.  
He knelt down and looked into the hole once again, bass-filled tones giving him the stealth of a spy at work. A haunting whisper gave a certain life to his movements.  
  
[You move.]  
  
[Like I want to.]  
  
There she was once more; naked, running the cloth over herself. This time she was wearing headphones, a walkman resting two feet away from the tub on a long cord. Even less chance of being heard. Perfect.  
  
[To see.]  
  
[Like your eyes do.]  
  
She would not see him this time. This time he could watch.  
This time his body responded even faster. God, she was so HOT...  
  
[We are downstairs where.]  
  
He stroked. He was less cautious this time. Cautious as he ever was, ever wary, but less cautious, knowing how unlikely it was that he might be heard this time. He kept going. It felt good. She looked good.  
  
[No one can see.]  
  
Nobody...  
More... just more...  
  
[New life break away...]  
  
The young woman washed her breasts, washed in between her legs, soapy moisture lapping at her sides. Sonic watched. He couldn't be caught. He was a fool for having worried...  
  
[Tonight]  
[I feel like more...]  
  
He was done some twenty minutes later, not even bothering to pull his pants down first. He could change later. He kept at it for several seconds after, watching her bathe, wondering who she might be. He thought about going downstairs, knocking on her door, maybe joining her in this bathtub. How hard could it be? No, no, he couldn't do that, yet...  
Could he? Maybe he was just being paranoid...  
No... am I? Was he? No...  
Wait.  
He watched intently, motionless, for long moments, as she appeared to finish. She climbed out of the tub, she pulled her headphones off, she went for a towel.  
She'd finished. He'd finished. They'd coincided perfectly.   
No. No, she knew he'd been watching. She stayed there until he was done. She'd been WATCHING him. He knew it. There was no other explanation. True coincidences were rare. He knew this. It bothered him.  
She'd WATCHED him.  
  
[Tonight I.]  
  
That was that. The past few nights, he thought he'd been spying on her. In fact, she'd been watching him instead. Studying him? What did she know? What did she want?  
Sonic finally got around to pulling his bed back over the hole. He didn't want her watching him sleep, too.  
  
The next day Knuckles and Tails stopped by to say hello. Sonic was on edge, much more than usual. He tried to enjoy their company but he couldn't take his thoughts off of the girl in the bathroom beneath him.  
  
Finally he decided to ask them.  
Guys... I've got a problem.  
What's that? Knuckles asked, almost flippantly. He was used to Sonic's paranoid raving by now, but it never hurt to humor him every once in awhile.  
This girl in the apartment below me... she...  
He stopped, staring warily out of the corner of his eye. Nothing met him but gray sky and squalid alleyways.  
Oh, you got a crush?  
No... I... I think she's been spying on me.  
Aw, jeez.  
Tails hissed. He turned away from Knuckles and looked at Sonic. What makes you say that?  
She... I don't know, I see her every other night or so and... He didn't want to tell them about his guilty pleasure of a habit right now. Anything could happen. She might find out. They might laugh. He might get arrested. Anything. It feels like she's... watching me. Like she... I don't know. Knows something about me.  
Well, you're pretty famous. Maybe she just recognizes you.  
Maybe she thinks you're a fuckin weirdo.  
  
No, not like that. Like something I've never felt from anyone. Like... something that feels dangerous.  
Knuckles let out an exasperated sigh. He lit a cigarette.  
I don't think she's spying on you, Sonic.  
Why not? How do you know? Have you asked her? Do you know her? I don't think so.  
No, I just... don't think she is. You're overreacting.  
If you were me, you'd know what I meant.  
If I were you I'd know a lot of fucked up things, Knuckles said, sniffing. Tails grimaced. It was no use.  
Don't laugh at me, Knuckles. You know how I am about these things.  
Pause.  
Yeah... yeah. I sure do.  
Knuckles puffed away at his cigarette. Sonic stopped eyeballing him after several seconds and turned to Tails.  
Tails. I listened to that CD you gave me for housewarming at last.  
Oh yeah? You like it?  
Yeah. Yeah, I really do.  
  
Sonic held his breath and tried to relax. He ended up tensing a bit as the needle pressed against his forearm. He'd already started the music, letting the soothing, yet haunting melody ease him into the process.  
  
[You move.]  
  
[Like I want to.]  
  
He pushed, the tip of the needle piercing his skin and sliding into his arm. Making sure it was near his selected vein, he pushed, shooting the heroin into his bloodstream. He winced under the pain from his unprofessional handling.  
He jerked the needle out and put it back in its case, closing his eyes and waiting for the rush. It came quickly; he no longer worried, he no longer felt afraid. No more paranoia. He smiled. he liked this part.  
  
[To see.]  
  
[Like your eyes do.]  
  
The room seemed to spin slightly. He felt a bit dizzy, but it was nice. Relaxing. Peaceful. He waited for it to pass, blinked a few times.  
He looked. The light had appeared under his bed. That girl was bathing again... waiting for him to look. To watch her.  
Why not? She was inviting him. It was okay. She couldn't hear him. He wouldn't disturb her.  
He turned the music up a couple of notches, humming along softly with the bass.  
  
[We are downstairs where.]  
  
[No one can see.]  
  
[New life break away.]  
  
He gripped the frame of the bed and performed the now familiar procedure of shifting his sleeping place away from the hole in the floor. The light appeared, and he observed it from two feet away. It was pretty...  
He knelt over it and pressed his eye against it. Watching her climb into the bathtub again. Watching all her beautiful body parts gliding slowly into the water. She'd invited him. She was very nice. Very pretty. He liked her.  
  
[Tonight...]  
[I feel like more...]  
  
He watched, slightly dizzy, getting comfortable. This was nice. He could get used to doing this. It was a nice way to end the evening, to get ready for sleep... watching this young lady wash for him. Not that she was ever very dirty... she must like to bathe. To let him watch. He slid his hands down into his pants, thinking about what it might be like to pop downstairs and say hello, to join her. Maybe kiss her. Maybe make love to her.  
  
[Tonight I.]  
  
She looked up at the ceiling. Was she looking at him? Maybe... but what could it hurt? Maybe she liked him. He liked her. It was only natural.  
Stroke. Stroke. Faster. The music drowned out his rustling and his heavy breathing. He watched her wash, watched her stroke her nipples and rub between her thighs with that washcloth...  
  
[You make.]  
  
[The water warm.]  
  
He kept going. She was washing a little faster, now. He looked at her hair and, after trying to focus for several seconds, saw that it was stringy and tough today. Perhaps she was dirty. Maybe she'd worked very hard today and that's why she was stroking herself so quickly...  
Oh, god. More.  
  
[You taste foreign]  
  
[And I know you can see.]  
  
[The cord break away.]  
  
Sonic was done quickly. Once again he didn't remove his pants first. However, the young lady was not. He kept watching her, sighing, waiting until she was done. It was only polite to wait, as she'd waited for him last night.  
  
He watched her climb out, watched her dress herself in a light nightgown. She was lovely dressed and naked. It didn't matter. She was nice.  
Good niiight, Sonic said quietly, euphorically as the light in the bathroom flicked off. He whistled along with the music as he moved the bed back over the hole.  
  
[Cause tonight]  
  
[I feel like more]  
  
[Tonight I feel like more]  
  
He waited for a moment after he'd finished with the bed before he turned the music off. Just wait for the chorus to finish one more time.  
  
[Feel like more...]  
  
He switched it off.  
  
The next morning Sonic had more or less come down from his rush. He ran what he could through his head. God, he'd been so flippant... it was okay. If she'd looked at him again he'd have noticed, right? He was good. He knew these things.  
He put on his coat and decided to go for a walk and clear his head. Maybe he could find out who this girl was, this young lady that was spying on him, and what to do about her.  
He walked for about an hour, got some breakfast, eyeballing his cup of coffee and making sure it wasn't going to eat him. Upon returning to the flat, he came across somebody exiting the first floor apartment. It wasn't Harv, the landlord. Sonic paused. This guy knew her. He could ask him.  
He waited a moment, waited until the guy was a little ways away from the door before approaching him from behind. Sonic cleared his throat. Yielding nothing, he tapped the guy on the shoulder.  
the guy asked, turning around. Who are you?  
I'm uhh... I'm a friend. Friend of the girl in the apartment you just came out of.  
Oh, that so? Never seen you before.  
We met pretty recently.  
Really. Can I help you with something?  
Yes... uhn, I wanted to know her name.  
The guy paused, eyeballing Sonic. Sonic tensed. This was a crucial point. Can't break up now, no, have to keep steady...  
  
This is embarrasing for me, but, I've got this memory thing...  
  
I have a problem with my short term memory, and, damn it, but I forgot her name. I'd feel too stupid asking her, she'd think it was weird... what is it again?  
The guy kept staring at Sonic, looking him up and down and over.  
Your name is?  
Smith. Or, Smitty, if you'd prefer.  
Right. Smitty.  
So it's...  
the guy said, turning to leave. Take some Advil or something, by the way, you look dazed.  
Okay. Thanks.  
Cassandra? Did he know her? Did she know HIM?  
  
[You move.]  
  
[Like I want to.]  
  
[To see.]  
  
[Like your eyes do.]  
  
[We are downstairs where.]  
  
[No one can see.]  
  
[New life break away.]  
  
[Tonight...]  
  
[I feel like more.]  
  
[Tonight I.]  
  
He let the music fill the room while he waited for the light to come on. Cassandra was her name. He could swear he'd heard it before. Somewhere... Cassandra had been the name of a girl who picked on him in grade school. Could this be her? Could she have followed him here? Plotting something? Everything was possible, he'd learned.  
  
Finally, the shaft of light shot up from the hole. He'd already moved the bed, and sat gripping his knees and pondering furiously for the last half hour or so. He scrambled towards the hole and pressed his eye against it.  
There she was undressing, slowly. He got hard quickly, to put it simply. This was no time for stalling. It came over him quickly, as soon as she slid into the water. He started stroking.  
What's this? This time she'd brought a book...  
Oh my.  
  
She was reading his favorite book. The Secret School. One he'd been reading not a few hours ago in a vain attempt to relax.  
That was it. It had to mean something. She had to be watching him. There was no other way... and now she was signalling, taunting, showing him that she knew... that she'd watched...  
He started to flip out. This was too much. This girl, this CASSANDRA was causing too many problems. Something had to be done.  
No... no, not yet... even now and then, there WERE coincidences.  
He tore himself away from the hole for the time being, not wishing to be watched any longer. He'd wait until tomorrow...  
  
He did wait. During the day he called the landlord again and, with his newfound knowledge of the girl's first name, tried to coax more out of Harv. Her last name, where she worked, how much she made, anything he might be able to use, to find out if this Cassandra really had been peering up through the crack without him knowing. Harv was as solid in his resolve as ever; which led Sonic to believe that this Cassandra might in fact be hiding something that others wouldn't want him to know. This bothered him.  
  
That night the bed was moved immediately. Sonic let the track play from his stereo several times while he waited for the bathroom light to come on.  
"Tonight I feel like more, I feel like more, I feel like..."  
He stopped when he saw the shaft of light appear from the hole. Immediately he got down on his knees and looked through. She was undressing. It was one of his favorite parts, but this was no time for that. Tonight he had to work. She was reading that book of hers again, wearing her headphones around her neck. This bothered him.  
He watched... watched her wash, stroke, rub the little nooks and crannies...  
  
He heard it then. Very vaguely, during the pause at the end of the track on his stereo, but he knew he'd heard it.  
The song started again and he quickly shut it off, his ears straining to pick out a trace of the sound he'd heard just before.  
There. There it was.  
Out of the headphones around Cassandra's neck, the same dark melody wafted upwards into Sonic's ears.  
"I feel liiiike more."  
  
Naturally, this bothered him. Sonic lost it.  
Enough is enough, he announced loudly, regretting it immediately. Looking down, he saw Cassandra look around for the source of the sound. Before he could move away, she saw him, gasped at the sight of the peeping tom peering through the unnoticed hole in her bathroom ceiling. She said something along the lines of pervert' at him-- the music drowning it out-- and climbed out of the bath, getting dressed, no doubt about to call the landlord.  
Oh god.  
Sonic bit at his nails. He fumbled through his belongings near the bed for the needle and heroin. He was going to need it.  
  
The next day the phone rang. He picked it up cautiously.  
  
  
It was Harv, the landlord.  
  
SONIC. I got a call from that girl beneath you last night.  
  
She says she saw you--  
Sonic hung up.  
  
It couldn't have been healthy to take another hit so soon, but he needed it. Once again he winced.  
  
Sonic had spent the rest of the day trying to think of a way he could deal with this Cassandra. Talking to her wasn't going to work, she'd know him. She had for the last week. He thought about ways to dispose of her. He thought he might be able to drown her; but his best judgement told him she wouldn't be bathing for awhile. He'd have to get her in the water himself.  
He had the perfect plan.... but no nerve.  
What might she know? She might have something up her sleeve. She might be able to beat him, to kill him if he tried to get to her first. He needed some support.  
"I..."  
Someone to help him.  
"Can't do it..."  
Someone like...  
  
He picked up the phone, sweat running down his forehead the whole time, tired eyes crying out for rest. He dialled Tails.  
Ring. Ring. Ring. Click.  
  
  
Oh, Sonic! Hi!  
Tails, I'm getting rid of her tonight. I wanted encouragement.  
Pause.  
  
The girl underneath me. Her name is Cassandra.  
What... what are you going to do?  
Well, if you're willing to talk me into it, beat her unconscious and drown her in her own bathtub.  
Sonic, are you fucking crazy?!  
No. I'm not crazy. It's not crazy if you're right.  
Sonic, you're not right!  
"So that's a no?"  
"Absolutely no! Don't do it!"  
"I expected a little more support from you, little buddy."  
"I can't support you, Sonic. You're taking this too far."  
She was reading my favorite book.  
That's a coincidence!  
There are no coincidences.   
Another pause.  
Are you high!?  
No. I'm on a rush. But thank you, now I've got the nerve to do it. So I can prove you wrong and impress you like I always do.  
"What--!"  
"Oh fuck you. I know I'm your idol. I'm doing this tonight, if you want to come watch your hero do his thing."  
"What are you...?!"  
"Oh, so no? Damn, Tails. You've slipped lately, you know that?"  
  
"It's Smith."  
Click.  
Done. All apprehensions gone. Sonic grabbed his bat, the frustration coursing through his veins and counteracting his heroin rush.  
  
Knock knock knock.  
  
[You move.]  
  
[Like I want to.]  
  
Who's there?  
Sonic could faintly hear his stereo upstairs. He'd left it on the same song, on high volume. He felt calm. Relaxed. Ready. The music helped, bass thumping through the thin ceiling.  
  
[To see.]   
  
[Like your eyes do.]  
  
Sonic replied, adopting an intonation and growl suited to his landlord. He could see the peephole in the doorway darken with Cassandra's wary eye. Wary as his... Oh yeah. She'd been watching.  
Long pause. Sonic waited patiently.  
  
[We are]  
  
[Downstairs]  
  
[Where noone can see]  
  
[New life break away]  
  
You're not Harv. Go away.  
  
[Tonight I feel like more]  
  
Sonic lifted the bat and smacked it heavily against the doorknob, once, twice. It came off. Cassandra screamed, the peephole brightening. Sonic lifted his foot and kicked against the lock, the doorframe shattering and allowing him entry into Cassandra's gaudy abode. She had good taste and a big music collection for someone in a shitty south side apartment.  
  
[Tonight I]  
  
Sonic stormed through the doorway, expression blank. He closed the door as best he could and glanced quickly at a stack of CDs on top of a television. There on the top was the same album he'd been listening to for the past week, as he'd expected-- oh god oh god OH GOD SHE'D BEEN WATCHING!!! SHE KNEW!!! SHE FUCKING KNEW IT ALL!!!  
  
He smashed his bat against the stack and a speaker, shattering the CD cases and denting the speaker. Cassandra screamed again, rushing for the phone.  
  
[You make]  
  
[The water warm]  
  
[You taste foreign]  
  
[And I know you can see]  
  
Sonic hurled his bat at her before she could reach it, landing it square on the crown of her head and toppling her. She grabbed at the phone and brought it down with her, the receiver falling off the hook.  
  
[The cord break away.]  
  
Sonic went over to her and turned her over. She stared up into his calm visage with terrified eyes, gasping heavily, holding the crown of her head for the pain.  
  
Stop watching me, he said, before unleashing a fury of fists upon all parts of her body.   
  
Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack. Smack.  
  
Blood. Smack. Smack. Bruising, broken bone. Smack. Smack. Smack.  
  
[Cause tonight I feel like more]  
  
[Tonight I feel like more]  
  
Cassandra was unconscious. He dragged her into her bathroom two rooms away, and was delighted to find that the water from the previous night still filled the porcelain tub. Hefting her up, he slid her, clothes and all, into the tub, unconscious, oblivious. He looked around.  
Aha.  
There was a radio resting not six feet away, on a dresser in the next room. He unplugged it from the wall, brought it into the bathroom. Unplugged the hair dryer, plugged in the radio. He stood overlooking his quarry in the tub, cradling the radio in his arms.  
  
[Feel like more]  
  
He threw it in.  
  
[You breathed]  
  
It was obvious what would happen next. Sonic watched in satisfaction as the water turned red following the rush of electricity exploding in the water.  
  
[Then you stopped...]  
  
He waited several long seconds for the shock to die off. He wasn't sure how long it took for the water to be safe again-- too high.  
  
[I breathed...]  
  
He admired his handiwork before finally getting a towel off of Cassandra's towel rack and draping it across the tub to cover her. It soaked up water and blood as it sunk.  
  
[Then dried you...]  
  
[Off...]  
  
Sonic didn't hear the police sirens pulling up outside the building. He'd sat down on Cassandra's couch and slipped into a coma.  
  
[And tonight I feel like more.]  
  
[Feel like more]  
  
[Tonight]  
  
[I feel like more]  
  
[Tonight I feel like more]  
  
[I feel like more...]  
  
=  
End  
  



End file.
